


the end of life as we know it

by Eicosanoids



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Dark, Doctor Whump, Dubious Consent, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Manipulated Clara, Mind Manipulation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-25
Updated: 2014-11-25
Packaged: 2018-02-22 12:47:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2508410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eicosanoids/pseuds/Eicosanoids
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor has made many enemies throughout his years and some had gotten especially creative with their plan to usurp him. What better way to break the Time Lord than to use his own companion against him? </p><p>  <b>Dark, lots of disturbing material so if you don’t like, don’t read (read the tags). Thank you very much! </b></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

He smiled.

He had a beautiful smile when he did; the little corners of his lips matched the creases of his eyes.  He should smile more, she mused as she ran a hand down the side of his face, rubbing against the small stubble. He always looked years younger when he did.  But then again, she liked how he looked, regardless of whether he smiled or he scowled. His age was of no concern to her. Ages didn’t matter here anyways, it was impossible to age. They would live out eternity here. Her and the Doctor. Side by side, as they should be.

Her hand had absent-mindedly continued to circle his face and the man let out a small shudder, pressing closer against her hand. She stilled her movements when he did so and after a few moments, he let out a small whimper of protest.

“Be good,” She murmured quietly. Almost immediately he followed her directions and not a peep sounded from him as she continued to move her hand, running it up the side of his face before tangling in silver locks. She could see flecks of mud and dirt still in them and a frown formed on her face as she flicked away one particular fragment. A shower would be a good idea for the near future. But for now, maybe he deserved a little reward.

She nudged the side of his ankle with her feet and the Time Lord slowly stirred, realizing that he was allowed to move now. He was half-leaning against her side on the mattress but he slowly scooted over to the edge of the bed, moving downwards her body. His hand had slowly moved down her body, passing over the light silky material that she wore with a gentle touch.  As he reached her knees, he pulled up the silk dress upwards so he could press his face against the insides of her thigh, trailing light kisses across them.  

A soft hum of pleasure escaped her lips from the contact and she let out a small murmur, urging him on. And he did. The Doctor tilted his heads further upwards to where her clit was situated and surged forward to lap at it. She couldn’t control the heavy moan that left her lips as he continued his ministrations, his tongue performing magic against her very core. She could feel him nip at her clit, rolling it with his tongue at certain intervals before pressing his tongue deep into her vagina.  

It didn’t take long before she could feel her release coming. Quickly, she wrapped her legs tightly across the Doctor’s shoulders, pulling him closer to her body and encouraging him to work faster. He delivered of course, bringing up a hand to press one finger inside her as he continued to move his tongue in delicious circles across her clitoris.

That did it.  With a small cry she felt a wave of ecstasy roll over her body. Her entire body shook as she held the Doctor in place, ensuring that he didn’t move from his current predicament at all. “Clean up,” She murmured almost in a dazed tone of voice and he obediently began lapping away at the juices she had secreted. When she was satisfied that he was done, she untangled her legs from his body. When he looked up from his place from between her legs, the Doctor looked thoroughly debauched. His hair was sticking up at odd ends and there was a pink flush that colored his cheeks.

_Beautiful._

She smiled as she reached forward, using a finger to beckon him back to her side.

“Clara…”

That name. It sounded so familiar, as if she’s heard it all her life. A flicker of something akin to recognition crossed her features as she watched the Doctor carefully, the Time Lord rising back up to her side. A trail of something wet lingered at his lips but he didn’t bother to wipe it away.

“Do you remember?”

\---

“What are you doing?”

“Doing what?”  
  
“The…the…writing thing. But not actually writing, just scribbling red markings on the margin.”

Clara let out an exasperated sigh, rolling her eyes as she flipped to a new page of the essay she was marking. “It’s part of my day job. Have to mark these essays by the end of the week so I thought I’d get a head start here.” The Doctor didn’t seem to believe her as he strode over to her side, peeking over her shoulder to get a closer look at what she was doing.

“It’s for your day job. You’re on the TARDIS right now so you shouldn’t be working,” He answered back crossly, reaching forward to snatch her pen away. “You can work on scribbling when I drop you off home.”

“Oi, hey!” Clara protested, scrambling to her feet –despite the numerous papers that went flying around her desk area- to try and retrieve her pen. But it was to no avail, the Doctor barely had to go on his toes to prevent her from reaching her trusty pen. “Stop being a prat about it. It’s not as if we’re doing anything right now,” She grumbled, crossing her arms to look at him sharply. “We’re still on the TARDIS. You haven’t set a destination yet.”

Even if he didn’t know where they were going, she was still on here with him. When the box appeared in her living room –again-, it didn’t take much effort on the Doctor’s part for her to come barging in with her stack of work. Multitasking was kind of her thing.

And it was easy enough to stay in control of her double life –save for her earlier mishaps. She had decided after some time that it wasn’t fair for Danny to have to be concerned with her running off with another man behind his back. They decided to just part as good friends (she still enjoyed a good drink with him and telling him about the Doctor’s antics) and perhaps, see what would happen in the future once she decided that she had enough of the travelling. Not that the day would come anytime soon.

It was an addiction. It was better than anything she could or ever do as a normal human being. Normalcy was beyond her now; she craved the thrill of adventure that came with travelling with the Doctor. The wonders she saw and experienced. The near death situations, while terrifying, gave her an adrenaline rush that she doubted that any drug could provide for her. And best of all, there was the Doctor.

When you run with the Doctor, you never ever want to stop.

“Well, you were too busy focusing on your scribbling,” The Doctor pointed out before he flicked the pen across her nose, causing her to squeak in surprise.

“It’s called grading,” Clara responded flatly, shaking her head. It was a given, there was no way she was going to get back her pen with the Doctor having his height as an advantage. Her eyes darted down to where her papers laid strewn across the floor. While she was formulating how best to pick them up, a sudden lurch of the TARDIS caused her to barrage straight into the Doctor’s chest. The two went crashing against the side of the railings as the lurching contained.

“What is going on?” Clara yelled, flailing out to grab a hold of the handrails to keep herself in one place. The Doctor was right next to her, one hand wrapped tightly against the bars while another was firmly wrapped around the center of her abdomen. It was odd for the Time Lord to initiate any sort of physical touches but it seemed as if he couldn’t stay away from her if there was a risk of danger. It was a reassuring support as the TARDIS continued to move and Clara could feel her entire head spinning.

Until it stopped and she came crashing down to the ground. “What was that?” She asked with a grunt, turning to face the Doctor. He hadn’t said anything when the TARDIS had suddenly started moving and even now, a look of confusion seemed as if it was spreading across his features.

“I don’t know,” He admitted as he scrambled back up to his feet, rushing down to where the console was smoking. It was smoking, Clara realized as she followed behind the Doctor, the Time Lord quickly trying to wave away the smoke. As his hands flew across the keys on the console, his expression grew even more fretful.

“What’s wrong?” Clara asked cautiously, leaning to take a look at the screen the Doctor was staring at. There was nothing on it, save for a couple of beeping dots.

“It…I don’t know. Something moved the TARDIS.” The Doctor continued to press the buttons, extending a hand to pull down one of the levers. Nothing. “And now she can’t take off for some reason.” A confusion expression spread across Clara’s face for a moment as she looked back at the Doctor carefully. “Wait…so you’re saying that something moved the TARDIS throughout time and space. And now the TARDIS is dysfunctional.”

“Don’t ever say that in front of her,” The Doctor warned quickly before he flew away from the console, running around to check up on the other aspects of the TARDIS. “But yes, precisely. So the question is…” His eyes glinted sharply. “Who moved it?”

His words sent a chill down the back of Clara’s spine as she glanced over her shoulder subconsciously. Was someone else controlling the TARDIS? The thought was dreadful and even the Doctor seemed to have thought so, with his ever present scowl covering his features as he checked up on different parts of the TARDIS.

“Doctor?” Clara called out as he vanished down to the base of the TARDIS. He didn’t reply and she let out a halfway annoyed groan underneath her breath. Sometimes, she really hated it when he disappeared without asking. But it was better than having the man completely abandon her –something, she grimaced at the memory of the moon trip- she had made the Doctor swear never to do again.

It was the one thing she requested if they were to go on any more trips together. That he wouldn’t leave her behind again. And it was with such solemn eyes that the Doctor promised her with that….she couldn’t believe that the man could ever break that promise.

 _But he lied to you at Christmas didn’t he_ , a voice echoed into her thoughts and Clara quickly shook the thought out of her mind. No. He was a different person now altogether. Perhaps a bit more callous and perhaps a bit trickier than his previous incarnation but this one never failed to make do on his words. Whatever he promised to do, whether she liked it or not, he did.

“Absolutely nothing. Everything’s working except for the transdimensional motors, “ The Doctor muttered as he popped back, shaking his head. “It doesn’t make any sense either. The Eye powers the motors so it’s not as if there’s no energy. Something is blocking the TARDIS from moving…” With that, his eyes travelled to the doors.

“And whatever it is, it’s probably out there.”

Clara frowned. “Isn’t it a trap? Bring the TARDIS to a location, prevent it from leaving…they probably expect us to come out and see what the problem is.” A small smile graced the Doctor’s lips as he turned to meet Clara’s eyes. There was a maniac expression on his face, the kind of expression that popped up whenever he was certain that he didn’t understand what was going on.

“Of course it’s a trap. Come on,” He gestured quickly before he hurried out of the door. With an exasperated sigh, Clara followed if a bit grudgingly. Sometimes, despite how boring marking could get, it beats regularly walking into known traps.

But then again, walking into traps came with the travelling.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had to rework this entire series after watching Dark Water. Such a good episode....but I had to rework this outline. And the tags and everything....anyways. Read and review, thank you very much!

_“Remember what?”_

_It took her by surprise to realize that her voice was fear. She didn’t even know what was she was afraid of. Surely, not the Doctor?_

_Exhaustion seemed to linger on the edges of his face but his eyes remained alert, turning to meet hers. Regardless of whatever she did to the Doctor, he never broke. Not completely, anyways._

_Holding the gaze for longer than necessary, it felt like a lifetime before he uttered his words._

_“This isn’t real.”_

\---

 

 

“Where are we?” Clara asked as she took a tentative step out of the TARDIS. She had to keep a hand covering her face from the sheer cloud of dust and sand that swirled around. It looked like a desert, giving her terrible memories of the time she got a rather horrendous tan.

Except this planet was colder and much less sunnier than she expected. A small shiver escaped her when a particularly brutal burst of wind slammed into her. She really wasn’t dressed for this, she thought to herself as she tried to zip up her jacket more. Except it really wasn’t meant to be worn for this weather. A sudden weigh on her shoulders caught her by surprise, when she realized the warmth was coming from the Doctor’s thick jacket that had been draped across his shoulders. “Doctor-“

“You really need to pick your clothes more carefully,” The Doctor said quickly, briskly walked in front of her; the red back of his vest a sharp contrast to the dull landscape they were standing in. “Interesting. I don’t actually know what planet we’re on, never been here before,” He pursued his lips in thought as he bent down to touch the sand beneath his feet. “Definitely not quick sand. That’s reassuring. Alright then, come on.” He called, gesturing quickly for Clara to follow him. She stumbled behind him, quickly catching up to his pace and she frowned towards the Time Lord. “Do you have any idea where we’re going?”

“Not a clue,” The Doctor admitted before squinting in the distance. “Maybe that building will give us some answers.” Clara followed his gaze, seeing something towering in the distance. It was difficult to miss amongst the flat landscape.  Must have meant that it was created for some purpose.

When they reached closer, it definitely resembled more and more like a gigantic pillar. The material that the building was made of resembled the sand beneath their feet; it was even the same color. But it stood strong against the raging wind and Clara gratefully ducked into the cover of the tower when they spotted an entrance into the tower.

Inside was another story altogether. There was a bleakness to the room they were standing in. Empty and circular, the only thing that distinguished the room was the winding staircase that seemed to lead up to…darkness? She couldn’t even make out what was above them and it was a pity that she didn’t bring a flashlight.

A sudden burst of light from the edge of her vision caught her attention and she snapped her head sharply, seeing the Doctor take out a portable light from his coat pockets and shine it below their feet. “Also stairs below us. Can’t tell how far it goes,” He announced as he shined the light around them.

Clara eyed a small rock on the floor before picking it up and tossing it to the Doctor. “Try this,” She suggested and the Doctor gave a nod before dropping it down the spiraling staircase.

There was silence in the air as no sound followed.

“Okay. Endless staircases; bit creepy if you ask me,” Clara decided, frowning as she inched closer to the Doctor. “Any idea what’s going on then? First the TARDIS stopped moving and now we landed in a chilly desert planet. Ring any bells?”

There was a concentrated look on the Doctor’s face, one that Clara always saw whenever there was a problem the Doctor couldn’t figure out. He stayed silent for a moment longer before he shined his light up and down the staircase.

“Right. Up or down?”

“Sorry?”

“Well, we’re not going to get anywhere if we just stay here. Splitting up and seeing what we can find is probably the best move we can take right now,” He said, rummaging through his coat pocket to take  earpiece communicators, passing one over to Clara while placing another into his own ear. “So where do you want to check out? Up or down?”

“Umm…,” There was a hesitant tone to her voice as she gingerly took the offered earpiece, popping it into her ear slowly. There was a bad, unsettling feeling in her gut about the possibility of being separated from the Doctor. Especially in a place as unknown as this. But then again, his words held some truth to them. It would be next to impossible to cover both the upstairs and the downstairs within a reasonable amount of time; going up and down the stairs would just be exhausting. “Up?” She answered with a shrug of her shoulders.

“Right then. Take these, you might need them –probably more than me if you run into any trouble,” The Doctor said, passing over his sonic and another flashlight.  “Remember, stay in touch. I can hear everything you say –and you’ll be able to hear everything I say. Keep me updated and _don’t get into trouble_.”

Clara scowled slightly at his little jib, crossing her arms indignantly. “If there’s anyone who’ll get into trouble, it’ll probably be you.” She announced as the Doctor answered with a wry smile before staring for the set of staircases that led downstairs.

“Stay safe,” Clara called out after him, the words leaking out of her mouth before she could stop them. She couldn’t help but feel that there was something distinctively off about this place but at this point, she couldn’t change her mind. Not with the Doctor’s footsteps growing quieter and quieter.

\---

He was getting tired of reaching empty rooms after empty rooms. After a series of long, winding staircases, the only places he had managed to reach were empty, badly lit rooms. Even when he shined his flashlight across the walls and examined every impeccable surface; there was nothing to be found. _Absolutely nothing_.

“Clara, how many rooms have you gotten through?” He asked as he left another empty room. There was heavy breathing –probably due to Clara actually climbing the stairs- on the other side of the comm. before Clara answered back, “Just five. All of them empty –what is this place? Did someone just forget to move in?”

“No idea. I’m on my twelfth room and it’s another dead end,” The Doctor said as he paced across the room. “And it still looks like there are miles to go.” After this many rooms, it didn’t look as if the cycle was ending. Was it some sort of illusion? He really had to wonder now because it was impossible for every room to look exactly the same.

Something caught his attention on the ground. A small crack in the ground and he bent down to press against it. When he touched it, he froze for a moment before his hand passed across the floor beneath him “Wait…Clara,” He said, bending down to press his hand against the ground. “Clara, what’s on the ground? On your end?”

“Er….just the ground? There’s nothing-“

“Bend down and touch it. Touch the ground, move your hand across it.”

There was a scuffling sound on the other end before Clara’s surprised voice popped back into his ear. “There’s…there’s heat coming from the ground?” A beat. “Doctor, the ground is glowing where the heat lines are located.”

A grin broke out on the Doctor’s expression as he stared at the floor beneath his end. The areas where he had brushed against with his hands were glowing red against the ashened floor. “Question is…what are these lines?” He skimmed his hands against the ground, watching as a red glow lit up wherever his hands touched. Was every room like this? It explained why the rooms looked so barren.

They really weren’t. But they were made with the illusion that they were empty. It still didn’t explain what the tower was or why there was some sort of trick masking the purpose of each room. But maybe this would clear this up, he mused as he continued running his hands across the ground, watching the floor light up in deep red color. It wasn’t until he had returned back to the original line he had created that he took a step back to see what covered the floor.

These symbols. _No._ It couldn’t be, his eyes widened in horror. This wasn’t a clue. It was a _trap._ “Clara! Clara-whatever you do, don’t finish the-“

\---

“Doctor?” Clara frowned as the line cut off, static filling her ear as she lost the signal. That was unsettling, she paused as she stood up from her half-completed series of lines. She really couldn’t make heads or tails about what she was trying to make. The red lines seemed to go in all different directions and in all sorts of shapes.

She didn’t like the fact that she had lost the one connection she had to the Doctor. Plucking the earpiece out of her ear, she sonicked the device a few times. It had worked the last time she used it, hopefully it worked against this time. But when she placed it back into her ear, only silence followed. “Doctor?”

Okay, this was getting to be a tad bit unnerving. Her eyes darted towards the half-finished floor before turning to the stairs that she had just climbed. “Right, time to see what’s up,” She decided, starting for the stairway. She might as well check up on the Doctor. The fact that the communicator stopped working suddenly as the Doctor was about to warn her…

There was a bad feeling in her stomach as she started down the stairs. What have they gotten themselves into?

Clara didn’t notice the red lines that she had left behind slowly begin to swirl, a glow beginning to pulsate and follow her out of the room

\---

“-lines, it’s a _trap_!”

Except he realized how futile his shouting was when only static answered him back. The Doctor snarled as he ripped the comm out of his ear, tossing it to the ground beneath him. Once he realized what the lines were for, he had been enveloped by the red lines that had surged from the ground and sucked him through. Through to….well, he didn’t know where he was now.

It looked like a cell. No, it was very much like a prison cell. Not much unlike the one he had been trapped in with Robin Hood and Clara the other time; he wrinkled his nose as he checked his wrists. But at least no manacles.

Running a hand through the bars of the cell, he mentally scolded himself for giving up the sonic. If he’d have known that _this_ is what ended up happening, he wouldn’t have given Clara the sonic in the first place. Now that was one escape plan out of the question. Sighing, the Doctor ran a hand through his hair, frustrating tinging his actions. The real question was what a teleportation floor doing in an empty tower. Did all of the floors lead to a particular room? Or cell?

“Why would the floor teleport someone into a cell?” He voiced out loud, pacing the room furiously.

“When you want someone in that cell.” The voice shook the Doctor out of his thoughts as he snapped his head towards the other side of the bars. There was a figure standing there, ever so calm and composed against the wall. Except he couldn’t make out just _who_ was standing there.

And it wasn’t as if he could tell by the voice either. Some sort of voice scrambler, he frowned at the mechanical voice. A droid..?

“Why would anyone want to put someone in this cell?” He decided to ask, stepping forward towards the bars to get a closer look. Except it was to no avail, there was literally no way to differentiate the person from the walls due to the thick shadows. A hand curled around one of the bars as the Doctor tried again. “Better question, who is responsible?”

A mechanical laugh sounded from the individual. “Oh dear, looks like someone received a late memo. Why do you think people put others behind bars?.” There was a small ruffling noise as the person strode forward. But it was hard to make out who it was with the thick veil draped across their face and long robes. “I’ve got an answer for you, dear Doctor.” So he, she, _it,_ whatever it was knew who he was. “Or rather a story. But you’ve got all the time in the world right now, don’t you?”

“I hate stories.” He lied, but it didn’t look like his words were going to do anything.

“Once upon a time, there was a time lord who stole a TARDIS and ran away. Over the years, the time lord travelled to all of the corners of the universe….for fun of course.” A giggle. “Of course, that would be too boring for a _big,_ _bad_ Time Lord. No, the Time Lord decided to stick his nose into the business of every planet he visited. Helping the impoverished, the underdogs, the resistance…the Time Lord could never resist the challenge. So as he helped those in need all across the galaxy, over time, his name slowly began to strike fear into his enemies. The Daleks, the Sonatarians, the Cybermen….”

“Yes yes, thank for the lovely recap of my life,” The Doctor grumbled, clapping his hands. “Not like I needed to know it since, well, _I lived it_.” Except, it was probably a mistake trying to interrupt the person’s story because a gloved hand thrust itself between the bars of the cell, enclosing tightly around his neck. A short gasp escaped his breath as he tried to pull the offending hand from choking him but the grasp remained firm.

“Shush. I’m telling a story so please don’t interrupt. And I know about Time Lord biology so don’t worry, I won’t kill you. Yet.” The mechanical voice sang as the hand gripped his neck never tighter. “Now, this Time Lord made a lot of enemies, oh yes. And they tried to take revenge in every way possible.  Yet time after time again, they failed and the Doctor triumphed. It got to be rather boring after that.”

The hold around his neck released and the Doctor gasped, breathing in air deeply. He had backed away from the bars ever so slightly as to not to experience a re-run but his eyes warily watched the veiled figure closely. “Okay. And? Is that all? Because I must say, you’ve really missing the meat of the story.”

“But the story’s not over, you see.” The figure slowly moved away, gliding away from the bars and back into the shadows of the wall. “Trick someone once, shame on you. Trick someone twice, shame on them. But we haven’t reached the third one yet.”

“Trick me three times and I get what I deserve?” The Doctor finished, raising an eyebrow at the use of the rhyme.

“Oh, there’s not going to be another trick. Not a third one, I’m afraid.” A slow laugh. “This time, everything is flawless and in place.  The Doctor has activated the trap and now there’s nowhere for you to run. This is the end of the line for the time lord, I’m afraid. After all of this time travelling…here is where it ends. The end of you.”

“Well, if you really want to kill me you could’ve done that earlier,” The Doctor retorted, raising an eyebrow. “Really, I would’ve actually preferred that then listen to your ramblings.”

The figure stayed silent for a moment longer before it started to move, walking away from the cell and deeper into the shadows. Wherever it was going…he had no idea as the darkness seemed to almost engulf the figure. But they didn’t leave before leaving one last, final message.

“Perhaps the mistake we’ve always made was trying to end you. But we’ve learned. And it’s so much sweeter when it’s the person you love who ends you instead.”  


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that I started writing this story before Dark Water/Death in Heaven so...it's definitely an AU by now. Well, it always was, but still. This chapter's a bit boring as I'm trying to get all of the elements in place but it'll get more exciting soon enough. I have another project that's begging to be worked on but I'm going to try and keep it to one project at a time. Let's see how well that goes. 
> 
> Thanks for reading as always and I hope you review.

“Doctor?” Clara called out hesitantly when she climbed down from the staircase. It didn’t look like he was on this floor either, she realized from a quick scan of the barren room. That made it what, the fourth room she’s passed by? It was still a barren room…without the same set of stairs that lead downstairs.

A frown formed on her face as she looked at the ground with a more appraising look. Somehow, the staircase downstairs had disappeared. A stone floor remained where it used to be but that was just it.

She tapped her foot gingerly against the floor, feeling the solidness of the stone. Right, there were no more staircases. None that led downstairs, she frowned as she glanced behind her. She could feel her heart stop for a fraction of a second as she realized that the stairs she had just come down from had also mysteriously disappeared. As if they had been sucked out from the floor above her leaving nothing behind.

That wasn’t a good sign. There was something going on in this tower that had magically decided that stairs weren’t necessary. So now she was stuck in a small circular room that was lit by only her flashlight on one hand and the green glow of the sonic she held in the other hand. Clara could feel her heart pounding loudly in her ears as she tried to appraise the situation carefully. She needed to be back in control. That was important. She made her way around the room, following the walls to see if there were any clues to how she could escape this circular prison. She had lost track of how many times she circled the room, letting out a frustrated sigh as there was no clue to be found.

“Doctor…what’s going on?” She mumbled under her breath as she shined the flashlight across the room, trying to catch a glimpse of anything, _something_. There was something terribly wrong that was happening –first the TARDIS got trapped, then the Doctor mysteriously disappeared with his warning cut off and now…this. Stuck on a floor of a tower that she had no idea how to get down from. How much worse could it possibly get?

Except she watched, horrified, as the light from the flashlight began to flicker on and off. “Oh no no no…,” Clara started as she scrambled to point the sonic towards the flashlight. But it was too late as the flashlight let out one last valiant burst of light before her world was enveloped in absolute darkness.

Pitch darkness.

Clara took a shaky step backwards, tossing away the flashlight and held the sonic close to her chest. Except no matter how much she tried to activate the green glow of the sonic –it just wouldn’t turn on. She kept stumbling backwards and before she knew it, her back was pressed right up against the walls.

“Okay, you’ve been through worse,” She tried to reassure herself as she pocketed the sonic. “Just got to navigate blindly. I’ve done this before. Probably. Possibly.”

“ _Possibly.”_ It sounded like her echo, which was odd given the size of the room. She wondered about the room before a  laugh followed. A laugh that didn’t come from her.

Clara tensed up automatically as the sound reverberated through the air. “Okay, who’s there?” She demanded, trying not to allow her fear to creep into her words.

“ _Who’s there, who’s there…_ ”

The voice sounded exactly like her, even if it was a big ghastly. Grimacing, she shook her head, “Stop it with the tricks, it’s getting a bit old. Who are you?”

“ _You.”_

“Oh, are we just going to repeat words now?” Clara spoke, inching her way towards where the sound of the voice was coming from. “I’ll have you know that this isn’t funny at all and when I find you-or whatever you are, you’re going to regret annoying Clara Oswald.”

There was no echo following her words and for a moment, Clara breathed out a sigh of relief. There was no indication that there was anyone in the room with her. It was difficult to tell, given how the voice seemed to echo from the walls but it was better than being a sitting duck. There was no other noise besides the echoes; she could only hear her fragmented breathing and her own footsteps as she moved across the room. But now, it was just…silence.

And then-

Suddenly, right before her eyes; a masked figure appeared out of nowhere in front of her eyes.  And the only sensible thing to do was to scream as the figure reached out for her, grasping her by the head tightly and she felt a burst of pounding sensation seep through from the temples of her

_“Night night.”_

That was the last thing she heard echoed in her voice before she felt darkness seep into the edges of her vision.

\---

He didn’t know how much time had elapsed between when the figure had left him and when it returned. The Doctor had spent the better part of the time trying to fashion a skeleton key from some of the trinkets he dug up from his pockets; some clothespin and some paperclips and it was starting to resemble something before footsteps announced their arrival. Quickly sweeping his creation into the side of the room, the Doctor brusquely stood up to face the heavily draped figure. Except this time, their hood was removed and in its place was a porcelain mask that covered their entire face.

“Ah, it’s always so great to see you again,” The Doctor said dryly as he rubbed his hands together. “So what story do you have this time for me? Hopefully nothing as boring as the one you told me earlier, you really need to be a better story-teller. There’s something called an exposition, and then some rising action leading up to a climax before the action begins to fall-“

“And it ends.” The figure replied back in its mechanical voice. The Doctor frowned at the terminology, giving a shrug of his shoulders. “Well, I prefer the term resolution,” He quipped back before he leaned forward against the bars “So what is it this time?”

“The end of you, of course,” There was a giggle after the words were said as the figure strode forward to close the distance between the two of them, one gloved hand reaching out to toy with the bars of the Doctor’s cell. Another hand had reached out to where the lock was situated and the figure inserted a key to unlock it.

The cell door swung open without protest and the Doctor raised an eyebrow. He didn’t dare take a step out just yet, merely watching the masked figure quietly. “So what exactly is this part of the story then?” He asked.

There was no response for a while as the figure began to step away from the cell, turning around to merge back with the darkness of the walls. It wasn’t until the figure had stepped a few meters away before it spoke.

“This is your end.” And as the figure rounded the corner, Clara appeared before the Doctor’s eyes. His eyes instantly widened and it didn’t take much coaxing for him to surge out from the cell to where Clara was walking out of.

“Clara!” The Doctor cried as he started for her side, quickly and tentatively grasping her elbows to pull her closer and to ensure whether or not she was alright. “Clara, Clara-are you alright? Did it hurt you? Did something happen?” His words left his mouth a mile a minute as he carefully looked her over. She didn’t seem hurt or injured; the only indication that something wasn’t right was the paleness in her skin. Her skin –and her eyes.

Somehow, they were glassed over. Almost as if she was staring through him. “Who’s Clara?” She asked which were the two words that instantly made his blood run cold. Her eyes grew darker, almost out of pure rage and the Doctor wasn’t expecting the harsh slap that followed. He was still gasping as he placed a hand against the tender side of his cheek, stumbling backwards ever so slightly out of both shock and pain.

“You may not refer to me with that name,” Clara announced suddenly, crossing her arms. “That’s not my name. And filth like you don’t deserve to be calling people with such familiar terms. You will call me the Boss and that’s it. Understood, _Time Lord_?”

Confusion swept across the Doctor’s face. This was not his Clara. Clara would never ever act that way towards him so there was clearly something else at power. His thoughts flickered back to where the masked figure had disappeared off to and an expression of anger flickered across his eyes for a moment. He had an inkling that it had something to do with it. And he was going to get his answers.

He was about to march right past Clara to where the figure had disappeared off to when he suddenly felt his entire lower body immobilized. The Doctor couldn’t take another step and he widened his eyes in surprise when he noticed the familiar red lines erupting from the ground had completely frozen him in place. The red lines were swirling across the floor beneath them yet they all seemed to have originated from where Clara was standing.

“What do you think you’re doing? Do you think I wouldn’t notice you trying to escape?” Clara snapped, marching forward to stare at the Doctor right in the eye. At her words, there was a sudden squeezing motion around his legs and the Doctor couldn’t help bite down the groan of pain that escaped him. “If you think you’re going to try and trick me like all of the others you’ve tricked –that’s a terrible mistake. You’re an idiot.”

“The others?” The Doctor questioned, frowning slightly in confusion. What others? “Okay, help me understand what’s going on here,” The Doctor decided to change his approach, channeling a gentler tone of voice. “Okay. Who am I? And who are you?” If he couldn’t get to the figure to get his answers, he might as well ask Clara and see what was going on with her behaviour.  

Clara looked at him with slight disgust and disbelief from his question and she tapped her foot impatiently on the ground. “You’ve really gone insane, have you? Locking you up here for the past hundred years must have done a number. Of course, since you’re the last of the Time Lords, the council requires your services. Or maybe you would have lived out the rest of your life here,” She shrugged her shoulders. “It’s of no concern to me. I just need to do my job. And you’re my charge.”

The past hundred? The Council? These baffled the Doctor completely but he tried to bite his tongue from erupting into a thousand other questions. He swore that it hadn’t been that long since he had emerged from the empty tower into a cell. But of course –it was possible that the teleportation device had taken him to a different place. And it must’ve taken Clara too –and did something with her mind at that too.

Shaking his head, he held up his hands in surrender. “Understood, Boss,” He decided to say instead. “Apologies,  I suppose being in solitary confinement really does a number on you. My memory’s a bit shifty so if you could refresh me on what’s…happening? What I need to do?”

“You ask too many questions,” Clara grunted before she turned her back to the Doctor before beginning to march out of the room. The red lines had yet to untangle from his legs but he could feel his body move automatically; the shifting of the red lines controlling his pace outside of his control. He grimaced at the sensation but tried not to dwell on it too much and focus more on where he was going. The hallway seemed to stretch on for ages before they reached a small shaft in the room. It didn’t take long before there was a screeching sound and an elevator appeared before his very eyes.

That was new, he frowned at its appearance as he got pushed inside. It didn’t seem like the desert place had much technology. There was old technology –the dead languages of summoning and teleportation but this….this was new.

It was even more unsettling as the elevator came to a groaning stop and the doors slid open. Light filtered through the doors as they opened and the Doctor had to squint to protect his eyes from the sudden burst of light.

The Doctor was stunned speechless at what stared at before him. The previously desolate desert that they had arrived in was a bustling city; filled to the brim with creatures of all sorts. There were towers that littered the landscape in far greater numbers than what he had previously seen. It seemed…alive.

Were they transported to the past? Or to the future? The Doctor couldn’t tell and he didn’t have time to mull upon the fact before he was being pulled by Clara towards a majestic building off to the other side of the desert. Clara hadn’t spoken a word since they had left and she seemed to have mastered the art of ignoring his words leaving him with nothing but his own thoughts. Not a good thing considering how jumbled his thoughts were; nothing made any sense. First the world they were on completely changed and there was the issue of what was going on in Clara’s mind…and how she was able to control the red lines. All of these questions and no answer in sight.

“Will you pay attention?” Clara’s irritated voice drifted into his thoughts as the Doctor turned to see her staring at him with annoyance in her eyes. “We’re here to see the Council now. So you better shape up now or you’re going to seriously regret it.” The Doctor raised an eye at her comment but didn’t elaborate any further as the doors in front of him began to open.

And slowly but surely, the Doctor began to reconsider everything that had gone through his mind. His eyes widened slowly in growing horror as he realized what this Council was comprised of. 

There were a series of Daleks situated on one wing of the gigantic council room. And the rest of the room was no better; it was filled with Cybermen, Sonatarans, Slitheens, Autons…almost all of the enemies he could’ve made throughout his lives were seated in the council seat. They were all facing him as he was pulled reluctantly into the room with the lines.

And right at the center of it, seated in the middle of the room was the masked figure.  Except –their mask was now resting on their lap almost as if it was forgotten. The woman smiled brilliantly at the Doctor even as he maintained an expression of both growing horror and confusion on his face.

“Welcome to the Council, my dear Doctor,” She drawled out slowly. “My Council, of course. It’s a pleasure to see you again…it’s been quite a while. Been a while since you’ve…left me for dead, hm? But of course, I could never truly stay dead.”

He couldn’t place where he had seen her before. But the familiarity in her voice, the tone she was using…it was…

“ _The Master_.” The Doctor breathed out, staring straight at the woman whose smile had grown even larger at his assertion.

“The one and only.”

**Author's Note:**

> Trying something new, hope you enjoy this. I will probably work on this more once find me is completed but this is definitely one of my major projects. :) (And learning how to write smut...) 
> 
> Read and review, let me know your thoughts about the direction of this story. This will be multichapter, I predict that it to be longer than Find me.


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